Former President Donald Trump attacked the panel looking into the incident on January 6 at a rally on Friday night in Arizona, while his vice president Mike Pence, who is also thinking about running for president, made a competing visit in the Grand Canyon State.
Trump blasted the House select committee looking into the uprising at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 while promoting Republican candidates for governor Kari Lake and the U.S. Senate Blake Masters in Prescott Valley.
Trump claimed to have seen the hearing on Thursday night, which focused on what he was doing when a violent crowd stormed the Capitol as Congress certified Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. The previous leader referred to it as a “hoax.”
He also denied Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony from last month, in which she outlined Trump’s alleged intention to visit the Capitol on January 6 and inform his followers that he had won the election following his “Stop the Steal” event on the Ellipse.
Hutchinson testified under oath that Tony Ornato, the president’s top security official, told her about a fight on January 6 during which Trump allegedly lunged at the wheel of “the Beast,” the president’s car, demanding to be taken to the Capitol. When he was informed he would be returning to the White House, Engel of the Secret Service allegedly had to physically restrain Trump.
Hutchinson asserts that Ornato “explained how angry [Trump] was. The president reportedly said the phrase “I’m the effing president.” Now take me to the Capitol “She said.
Trump refuted Hutchinson’s testimony on Friday night, asserting that he was physically incapable of carrying out her allegations. Hutchinson said she observed a White House valet cleaning up a mess after Trump allegedly slammed a plate with his food on it against a wall. The former president refuted this story as well.
“They have me throwing food,” Trump told the crowd. “I don’t throw food in the White House. I don’t throw food anywhere. I eat the food.”
He also railed against Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who told the members of the Jan. 6 committee that Trump pressured him, without evidence, to say the 2020 election was fraudulent. Trump called Bowers “a RINO coward who participated against the Republican Party” during the June hearing.
Trump said of the House’s investigation: “Where does it stop? Where does it end? Never forget: Everything this corrupt establishment is doing to me is all about preserving their power and control over the American people, for whatever reason. They want to damage me in any form so I can no longer represent you
“The persecution of Donald Trump would instantly end if I stayed home, took it easy, and proclaimed that I was not going to run any longer for political office,” he said. “They’re chasing me because I’m fighting for you,” I said.
Trump didn’t mention Pence on Friday night — but the two had dueling events in Arizona at which they campaigned for opposing candidates for governor. Pence, who is also contemplating running in 2024, attended two events with Karrin Taylor Robson, a development attorney who has called for moving on from the 2020 election.
Next week, Trump and Pence will cross paths again in Washington, D.C. — Trump’s first visit to the nation’s capital since leaving office — where each will deliver major speeches.
